S161-119

Reported

To require the Secretary of Transportation to issue rules relating to the testing procedures used under the New Car Assessment Program of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and for other purposes.

119th Congress Introduced Jan 21, 2025

Legislative Progress

Reported
Introduced Committee Passed
Jan 31, 2025

Reported by Mr. Cruz, with an amendment

Jan 21, 2025

Mrs. Fischer (for herself, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Blackburn, Ms. Duckworth, …

Jan 21, 2025

Mrs. Fischer (for herself, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Blackburn, and Ms. …

Summary

What This Bill Does

Requires the Secretary of Transportation to update federal motor vehicle safety standards within 15-180 days to include both 50th percentile adult male and 5th percentile adult female THOR crash test dummies for vehicle safety testing.

Who Benefits and How

Women gain improved vehicle safety through testing with female body type dummies. All vehicle occupants benefit from more comprehensive crashworthiness testing. Vehicle safety research advances through updated test standards.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Automakers must ensure vehicles pass tests with both male and female dummies. DOT must revise parts 571 and 572 of CFR on tight deadlines. Testing facilities may need new equipment.

Key Provisions

  • 15-day deadline to revise regulations to include both THOR devices
  • 180-day deadline for final rule on male THOR device
  • 60-day deadline for proposed rule on female THOR device
  • 120-day deadline for final rule on female THOR device
Model: claude-opus-4
Generated: Jan 10, 2026 18:29

Evidence Chain:

This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

Primary Purpose

Requires DOT to update crash test standards to include female crash test dummies

Policy Domains

Transportation Safety Vehicle Safety Gender Equity Regulation

Legislative Strategy

"Address gender disparity in vehicle crash safety testing"

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Transportation Safety Vehicle Safety
Actor Mappings
"the_secretary"
→ Secretary of Transportation

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

1 term
"testing device" §2

Testing device used for compliance testing of motor vehicles with Federal motor vehicle safety standards described in 49 CFR part 572

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology